


Loud

by AmaliaIR



Series: Drabbles [23]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Background Drarry, Drarry, M/M, Sensory Overload
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-07
Updated: 2018-02-07
Packaged: 2019-03-15 04:08:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,966
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13605207
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AmaliaIR/pseuds/AmaliaIR
Summary: Can you imagine a love that is so loud, it never has to question why or how?





	Loud

Your best friend’s former-enemy-turned-lover’s best friend is now your friend (or enemy? or lover?)

Theo shook his head. He was entirely too drunk and tired to be thinking so much.

But it was hard to help it when the bizarre situation finally became true. Draco and Potter realizing they fancied each other had been unavoidable at some point, but Theo had imagined it would take them longer and he’d have time to mentally adjust.

Great, he thought half bitterly half truthfully. Because if he was honest, he was glad Draco had finally made progress with the person he had pinned (and complained and stalked) for so long. But if he was equally honest, he hated new people, and Draco wooing Potter meant spending time with him and Longbottom and Granger and Lovegood and a myriad of Weasleys, but specially one Weasley, the one who was more Weasley than any other Weasley Theo had met.

He had known Ron for all seven years at Hogwarts, and he was about the loudest person he could think of, in all the senses of the word. He was unnecessarily tall and long, and his hair was like an unavoidable visual beacon that Theo had never been able to look at directly. And then he was also literally loud, with a voice and laugh that carried out through the halls and classrooms of the school in Theo’s memory. His actions were always a shout for attention, even if he was never the centre of it and Theo couldn’t wrap his mind around that; Theo was the person who faded into the background, while Ron was the person who stood against it.

Theo knew that he wasn’t being fair because his own senses were always overstimulated and his perception was weird, but every time he looked at Ron Weasley his brain started chiming: loud loud loud loud loud.

Only he wasn’t.

Perhaps he’d changed over the years without Theo realizing it. Perhaps it was the result of a war he had been too young for. Or perhaps he was merely upset that his best friend was making him hang out with a bunch of Slytherins.

But the point was that Ron had not made a sound, nor left his chair all night, and in the greenish light of Draco’s study the brightness of his hair was toned down, something about contrasting or complementary colors, but the point was that Theo could look at it now.

He drank his firewhiskey slowly, not really looking anywhere as he listened to Draco’s story about…

About something that Theo didn’t know because he was also not paying attention.

It was well past midnight and most people had gone home already. Granger had a meeting in the morning, so she had been the first to leave after only one drink. Lovegood and Longbottom followed, and then surprisingly, Blaise. Apparently his mother was trying to set him up with some witch or another, so naturally he had taken a liking to Muggle nightclubs and girls.

Pansy had stayed long enough, but Theo couldn’t blame her for finally flooing home. He would do it if he could.

Unfortunately, Draco and Potter were still in the early stages of their romance, which meant they wanted to spend time together but they felt too awkward being alone, so Draco had asked Theo not to abandon him before Potter left. And it was painfully obvious that Potter had asked the same of Ron.

“I’m going to refresh the drinks,” Draco said as he got to his feet and levitated the empty glasses.

Potter rose too. “I’ll help you.”

Theo kept his mouth shut for as long as he could, but when the two of them entered and kitchen and a glass shattered, he flinched and couldn’t stop himself.

“If you take more than five minutes, I’m leaving,” he called out to Draco. He realized that that was the first time he had spoken a full sentence the entire night.

Ron chuckled and Theo turned to look at him, surprised.

It was the first time he had smiled the entire night.

.

If there was something that Ron and Theo had in common, it was the lengths to which they’d go to ensure that their best friends got laid.

It had been nearly three months, and Draco and Potter still refused to acknowledge that they were boyfriends and ridiculously into each other. Theo had accompanied Draco to countless dinners, gatherings, and group outings that were really just dates in disguise, and in every single one of them he and Ron had remained until the end waiting for either Draco or Potter to give up and go home first.

It was around date number three that they started betting, and by date twelve they were experts in talking about Draco and Potter in plain sight without being noticed.

“Harry’s tired because we played Quidditch all afternoon,” Ron whispered to Theo as he refilled Theo’s glass. “He’s definitely calling it first.”

Theo shook his head softly, trying not to draw any attention to himself. “He gave up last time. There’s no way his Gryffindor stubbornness lets him do it again.”

“We aren’t all stubborn, you know.” Ron looked directly at Theo now, which was rare, and his eyes were so blue that Theo’s brain started chiming again. Loud loud loud.

Thankfully, it was interrupted by the strange feeling of something wet running down his hand. He and Ron looked down to see that Theo’s glass had overflown, and Ron quickly stopped pouring the firewhiskey, setting the bottle down and rushing to take the still dripping glass.

“Shit, sorry,” Ron said, grabbing a couple of napkins and cleaning the mess on the table beneath Theo’s hand.

Theo started laughing, suddenly and impulsively, his other hand coming up to his face to hide it, because it somehow felt weird to have Ron look at smile from so close up. Draco and Potter were so concentrated in their insult-driven flirting that they didn’t even notice what had happened.

“What?” Ron asked, his voice tinted with amusement.

Theo’s shoulders shook with his silent laughter. “You’re so stubborn that you wouldn’t even quit pouring the drink,” he said and laughed some more before opening his eyes.

Ron snorted. “Wow. That’s the Slytherin humor? Seriously?”

Then, as if in slow motion, Ron took Theo’s wet hand in his own and started dabbing it with a napkin. Theo’s laughter died out immediately because suddenly there was another sense; touch. And it wasn’t loud at all like he had expected from looking at Ron’s large hands. He was careful, too careful for it not to be un purpose, and he was also warm but not too warm. Theo felt himself relax into it until his hand was fully dry.

“You’re fucking falling asleep on me, Potter.”

Ron and Theo turned to look at Draco, and Ron slowly lowered Theo’s hand to rest on the table.

“Am not,” said Potter, who blinked far too many times for that to be true.

Draco rolled his eyes and got to his feet. “I’ll leave first if that means you go to bed.”

Theo couldn’t help the smirk that formed on his face and his eyes flickered to Ron’s, who was already looking at him, all blue eyes and red cheeks. Theo couldn’t believe how colorful he was, or how little he minded.

.

Draco had asked Theo not to come and Theo should have listened. It was the first weekend in months that Theo had the option to stay at home quietly, maybe read a book or practice his nonverbal magic. Instead, he decided to ignore his best friend (who knew him better than anyone) and show up at Weasley’s Wizard Wheezes anyway.

“The party of the century!” the twin Weasleys had shouted from their rooftop the week before as they threw invitation pamphlets all around Diagon Alley.

It certainly looked like it. Theo admired the great extravagant building from outside, the walls thumping with the music coming from somewhere inside. The windows shone different colors and the outlines of people dancing and moving were visible through them.

As if none of this bothered him, Theo took a step forward, and then another, and then another, until he was unmistakably inside the party, at least the first floor of it, and his insides froze. He realized his mistake far too late, because he couldn’t see the exit anymore and the sea of people were pushing, pulling, and taking him somewhere unknown where things were bound to get far worst. The music was numbing his ears, the lights were making his vision go blurry, and he couldn’t even start to think about all the people touching him, or he would break down completely and wouldn’t be able to leave.

Draco was somewhere around, he would help him, he would take Theo away and protect him like he always did, Theo just needed to call for him and he would come.

The only problem was that Theo’s voice had stopped working as everything inside him still felt frozen, and even if it didn’t, there was no way Draco would hear him over the loudness of music and people, he could be anywhere.

Theo started shaking then, knowing that his only hope was a lost cause. Through a haze he could make out some people he recognized; Lovegood, Parvati, even Millicent was there, but none of them could see him and none of them knew what was going on inside his head, only Draco. Anything could happen now, he might throw up, he might pass out, he might even burst with unexpected defensive magic and hurt someone as it had when he was a kid. His eyes started watering and he closed them shut.

He felt even more movement, up and down and sideways, he couldn’t differentiate now, and the music came in rapid waves to his ears, higher and lower without making any sense. The only thing he could focus on now was his skin, hurting from all the coldness.

Coldness? His brain supplied. There was something that didn’t match there, because he wasn’t supposed to be cold, everything was hot and burning and loud, but he could no longer feel anyone around him, only freezing air all over his skin.

“Theo.”

It was very faint, and very far away, but he could hear something other than the music now. It was familiar and solid, so he clung to it, straining his ears to get more of it and use it to pull himself out.

“Theo.”

Things started to fall back into place inside his brain, he could still hear the music but it was fading into the background, and the more he thought of it, the more he could feel the coldness against his arms and chest and face.

“Theo.”

Theo regained control of his own eyelids, and he slowly ventured them open, fully expecting blinding lights and colors, but instead it was black, all black except for a few shining spots in the distance. He was looking at the sky.

“Theo?”

He sighed in relief and understanding. Draco had found him and dragged him outside and now he was lying on the street.

But after a second he considered that the voice didn’t really sound like Draco, and he sat up quickly, his head thumping painfully from the effort and his still wet eyes started adjusting in the darkness.

Ron was kneeling next to him, his brow furrowed and his hands balled into fists on top of his knees, but keeping his distance.

“Are you alright?” he asked, voice flooded with concern.

Theo honestly didn’t know. He was definitely better than before, but still felt too confused for a proper answer on that.

He looked down at himself to find that he had no clothes from the waist up, his shirt, vest, jacket and scarf all thrown carelessly on the floor next to him.

As if reading his mind, Ron explained. “You were clawing at your sleeves and collar, trying to take it all off. I was trying to help, but I did rip off a few buttons from the shirt. Sorry.”

Sorry? He was apologizing?

“How did…” Theo managed, his voice rough.

Ron’s face softened and his very pale face started regaining some color. “I saw from the second floor as you entered and I was immediately alerted. I didn’t think you’d come. It was barely a few seconds before you started…” he trailed off, but Theo didn’t need him to explain that part. “I got there as fast as I could, but there was a lot of people. By the time I reached you, you were dropping to the floor so I took you out here and tried to…help.”

“No,” Theo shook his head, the pounding inside slowly receding. “I mean, how did you know about me?”

Ron was quiet for a few seconds, looking as though he didn’t understand the question.

“I don’t want to be tactless,” he finally said. “But I thought it was obvious. The way you talk and move. From the first time you interacted with me I could tell. My brother Percy is sort of like that, and ever since the war ended I…”

Theo nodded, understanding. He didn’t want Ron to say something he wasn’t comfortable with, although he didn’t look too uncomfortable. No one had ever told him they could tell what was wrong with him by his behaviour. Theo had spent years perfecting the way he acted around others, and he knew he had always excelled in going unnoticed, so this was new to him and he didn’t know how to react.

He shivered.

Ron clicked into action, grabbing Theo’s clothes from the ground and offering them to him. “Do you want them?”

Theo nodded.

“Do you want me to help you put them on?”

Again, Theo nodded.

Ron took the shirt and held it open behind Theo’s back so he could slip his arms into the sleeves, and then very carefully started doing the buttons that remained on the shirt. His knuckles grazed Theo’s chest slightly and they were so warm against his freezing skin that he flinched. Ron pulled his hands back immediately and opened his mouth to apologize most likely, but Theo put his hand over Ron’s and shook his head.

“It’s okay. Can you continue, please?”

Ron smiled and nodded as he finished buttoning up Theo’s shirt. He then pulled the vest over Theo’s head, making sure not to drag it down too hard or fast. Finally, he helped Theo put on his jacket and wrapped the scarf around his neck.

“Thank you,” he said afterwards, his voice still feeling a little foreign to his own ears.

“It’s no problem,” Ron replied, his eyes searching Theo’s face warily. “But can I ask…Why did you come?”

Theo sat there, looking down at his hands and thinking about the question but not really understanding it. Why had he come? He hadn’t stopped to question this when he was at home getting ready, or when he disapparated to the front step of the building, or even as he thoughtlessly walked inside and managed to get himself in this mess.

He looked up at Ron and his brain chimed.

“I wanted to see you.”

His tongue supplied the answer easily, as though he had known all along but had been blind to it. He had come because he wanted to be with Ron. Because he had gotten used to seeing him every weekend and changing that felt wrong. Because he missed him.

“Oh.” Ron’s eyes widened a little, showing more blue. He looked taken aback, and frankly, Theo was too, but now it was out in the open and he could only hope for the best. “You could have just called, you know?”

Ron smiled warmly, and Theo felt the rest of the ice that had settled inside him melting completely.

“Can I kiss you?”

Again, the words slipped from his mouth without his previous authorization, but this time he was way more mortified. Why would he say that? Why would his already fucked up brain embarrass him even further?

“Are you sure?” Ron asked calmly, as if Theo’s question wasn’t the craziest thing he heard in his life.

Surprised but holding onto the opportunity, Theo nodded. “I just…I want to see…”

He needed to know what it’d be like, because his body had been asking him to do it ever since he realized that Ron was the one who rescued him tonight, but his brain was telling him it’d be too much for him, and there was only one way to make sure.

With cold trembling hands, Theo reached up and touched Ron’s face, his fingertips warming up with Ron’s cheeks. He got closer and closer until he knew he was close enough to shut his eyes and still not miss Ron’s lips. Ron’s breath was hot against his skin, and Theo worried briefly about how the temperature of his own lips would probably feel unpleasant to Ron, but there was nothing to do now, just lean in and kiss him.

Their lips touched, soft and warm and briefly, but just enough to fill Theo’s senses with all he needed to know: he could handle it. Maybe later when he wasn’t just leaving an overload episode, he could handle more.

Theo pulled back and watched as Ron’s face, eyes still closed, flushed with color from the tip of his ears to the bottom of his neck, matching with his hair and contrasting with his serene expression, and Theo realized then that when he looked at Ron his brain chimed, but now his heart did also.

He could really fall in love with Ron’s loudness.


End file.
